The present invention relates to a video-recording system for recording a video signal generated in a shooting operation and meta data related to the video signal, relates to a meta-data addition apparatus, an imaging apparatus and a video-signal-recording apparatus, which are employed in the video-recording system, as well as relates to a video-recording method adopted by the video-recording system and meta-data format.
In recent years, in the field of producing video works such as movies and TV programs, effective utilization of meta data related to a video material obtained from a shooting operation is promoted. The meta data related to a video material includes information on attributes of a video work and setting information of apparatus such as an imaging apparatus and a lens apparatus, which are used in the shooting operation. For more information, refer to Japanese Patent Laid-open No. Hei 9-46627. The attributes of a video work include the title, shooting date and scene number of the video work. These pieces of meta data related to video materials are information useful for identifying and managing the shot video materials and effectively used at the stage of post-processing carried out on the video materials. The post-processing includes a CG (Computer Graphics) synthesis process and a composite process.
Traditionally, such meta data related to a video material is recorded and managed by using a terminal such as a personal computer separately from the video material, which is normally recorded on a recording medium such as magnetic tape, and the meta data is linked to the video material by assigning a code to both the meta data and the video material. An example of the assigned code is a code indicating a time at which images of the video material were taken. Then, in a process to display the video material or post-processing of the video material, the meta data related to the video material is read out from the terminal for managing the video material by specifying the time code assigned to both the meta data and the video material.
However, the conventional method of recording and managing meta data has a problem that processes such as operations to extract and display necessary meta data are carried out inefficiently because a video material is linked to meta data related to the video material indirectly by using time codes cited above or the like. Further, the conventional method of recording and managing meta data has another problem that the necessity to record and manage meta data separately from a video material associated with the meta data causes inconvenience.
In addition, the conventional method of recording and managing meta data has a further problem that, if either one of a video material and meta data related to the video material is edited, the meta data can no longer be continuously extracted and displayed in synchronization with the video material. Furthermore, the method of linking meta data to a video material associated with the meta data by using a code such as a time code has a limitation that, if the video material is a video material shot at a variable speed by changing the frame rate of a resulting video signal representing the video material, there will be a discrepancy between the number of frames composing the video material and the number of recorded pieces of meta data.